Offseason 2022

[jpfalcon09]

Lindenwood made their jump to Division 1 official today. Expect them to very active in the portal.

[mbenecke]

Found this on the USCHO New Hampshire thread, they're keeping a version of the portal on Google Sheets that also has player stats.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

Really nice tool - thanks for posting this!

I have no idea what goes into recruiting guys, especially from the portal, but there were a few names I was interested in. Each has 1 year of eligibility left, and some may be "too good" for us.

Jacob Nordqvist - a right handed defenseman with 16 points last year and 62 over 4 years at LSSU. From Sweden, wore an A this year.

Justin Michaelian - a right handed forward with 23 points last year and 49 over 4 years at Ferris State. From Wixom, MI (Detroit area) and wore an A for them this year. Brother of Brendon below.

Brendon Michaelian - a left handed defenseman with 13 points last year and 42 over 4 years at Robert Morris and Ferris State. From Wixom, MI (Detroit area) and wore an A for RMU as a junior. Brother of Justin above.

Will Calverly - a left handed center with 27 points last year and 91 over 4 years at RIT. From Scarborough, Ontario (where Tim Theocharidis was from), and was the captain for RIT this year. If Wayne still has a good relationship with him and he feels like sending him our way, I would be thrilled.

That said, we probably get none of them. Most of my thinking is based on need and geography, which may not mean a thing to these guys.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Nordqvist has been in the portal since December. LSSU doesn't have a graduate program so all those guys are 4-and-done. Ferris' graduate program consists of some online degrees (MBA for instance) and degrees in areas generally not highly traversed by the hockey community (i.e. nursing). That's how we landed Norris last year and why the Michaelian's are available.

I went to our first game in Big Rapids and ended up sitting by a Ferris prof who had Norris in a number of her classes. She was initially surprised he'd landed with us but when I explained he was in our MBA program as a grad student she thought that made a lot of sense as he is/was a good student.

[pdt1081]

I have no idea what goes into recruiting guys, especially from the portal, but there were a few names I was interested in. Each has 1 year of eligibility left, and some may be "too good" for us.

Beginning of the season, Ty made mention the incoming transfers (and Swankler) were the result of relationships that already existed. That's what the majority of recruiting is. It's a lot of knowing someone who knows someone. "Cold calling" doesn't really work very often, and is usually a sign of desperation from a coaching staff.

Most kids in the portal are still going to have a good relationship with their current coach, they're just searching for a chance at more ice time or for academic reasons. Motzko helped steer Burke to BG, for example.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Johnson mentioned in a podcast where he was interviewed that he had family ties to Wisconsin and had envisioned himself being a Badger one day so that connection was pretty straightforward. He did say his phone blew up within 30 min of putting his name in the portal.

Schlossman interviewed Ford who said he reached out to Berge for advice when he started the process and that Berge offered him a spot at Miami State. He obviously turned it down but had no shortage of suiters to choose from. He signed up with NoDak because they treated the situation like they were recruiting him from scratch which he appreciated. Playing in the Ralph doesn't hurt either.

I never heard anything from Kruse/Dop/Wells on the BC angle.

[mbenecke]

Johnson mentioned in a podcast where he was interviewed that he had family ties to Wisconsin and had envisioned himself being a Badger one day so that connection was pretty straightforward. He did say his phone blew up within 30 min of putting his name in the portal.

Schlossman interviewed Ford who said he reached out to Berge for advice when he started the process and that Berge offered him a spot at Miami State. He obviously turned it down but had no shortage of suiters to choose from. He signed up with NoDak because they treated the situation like they were recruiting him from scratch which he appreciated. Playing in the Ralph doesn't hurt either.

I never heard anything from Kruse/Dop/Wells on the BC angle.

I had heard something about Ty helping the 3 BC guys get there because of the connection with Jerry York, being Ty's college coach.

[rood]

Daly is in the portal.

Best of luck to him. Unfortunately I think most if not all these guys in the portal are going to find themselves out of college hockey.

It's not unusual for players who don't make the step up to D1 from juniors to transfer to D3, even as seniors. If they want to play, there are plenty of schools that will be happy to take them.

[mbenecke]

Putting to bed the question why Coale Norris hasn’t been signed to a pro contract yet:

He had surgery on his left shoulder today. I would assume it was a torn labrum.

Makes a lot more sense now.

[jpfalcon09]

Utica University is exploring a potential move to D1 and Atlantic Hockey has interest in adding them if they do.

[Schadenfreude]

Utica University is exploring a potential move to D1 and Atlantic Hockey has interest in adding them if they do.

I didn't realize the Atlantic Hockey tournament was in Utica this year. The Utica Memorial Auditorium is a great little arena. All chairbacks and excellent sight lines thanks to the cable-suspended roof. The AHL Utica Comets have been selling the building out for years.

Any implications for the CCHA here? I'm not seeing an obvious one. Would we even want Robert Morris if they needed a home?

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

I’d think a road trip to Pittsburgh for Mankato, Bemidji, and Rico is about as exciting for them as a road trip to Sioux Falls would be for us and Ferris.

[pdt1081]

Appears Lloyd is in the portal.

[TalonsUpPuckDown]

Appears Lloyd is in the portal.

Ouch. That's the first one that really stings.

[pdt1081]

Appears Lloyd is in the portal.

Ouch. That's the first one that really stings.

Only 2 remaining from that class originally (not counting Coyle who joined for sophomore season). Up until this point, I didn't anticipate much shopping in the portal, as a couple hungry freshman would suffice. This, to me, confirms at least one transfer D man incoming.

[mbenecke]

Appears Lloyd is in the portal.

I'm kinda surprised by this one.

Where did you see it? I don't doubt you, I just haven't been able to find it anywhere, including on that spreadsheet that was posted earlier in the thread.